episode_0055

Of course, Omakase.

It was a magic word that stimulated interest no matter where it was placed.

I returned to Hyehwadang with Princess Hongryeon.

“I’m sitting comfortably on the sofa. I will make the offering I recommend myself.”

“What kind of offering is it?”

“Food.”

The current time was dawn. I couldn’t go out and buy anything, and I couldn’t take Princess Hongryeon on a proper tour of this world. The best thing to do was to make food with ingredients available at home and offer it as an offering.

‘What should I treat you?’

I stood in the kitchen wearing an apron and thought about it. I said I would offer a dish as an offering, but I had to think specifically about what kind of dish I would make. It had to be a dish that could stimulate the curiosity of the goddess who came to see this world for the first time in 200 years.

Let’s think about it.

A food that the goddess is unfamiliar with because it was created after the 19th century.

A food that must be prepared quickly before the morning sun rises, and is spicy enough to captivate the appetite of a goddess. Rather than cooking a full-fledged meal, I thought it would be better to make a light dessert.

‘dessert?’

When you mentioned dessert, something popped into my head. I took out my phone and searched for various desserts. Although it was created after the 19th century, there were desserts that could be made with ingredients at home.

Parfait.

It was a dessert first created in 1894.

“Princess. Do you know what a parfait is?”

“Parfait? I don’t know.”

“Okay.”

Princess Hongryeon had never tasted a parfait. Ice cream created before the 19th century was at best sorbet or fruit shaved ice. The menu for the offering omakase has been decided. I started making parfaits in the kitchen.

Ingredients needed include ice cream, yogurt, fruit, cookies, cereal, milk, etc.

These were all materials found at home. Ice cream and yogurt were Sarah’s favorite snacks. I bought some snacks and cereal for myself. There was an overflow of fruit that had been bought to be used as an offering.

‘good.’

I opened the refrigerator.

Sarah took out the cup of ice cream she had bought to eat. It was a brand of ice cream that Sarah really liked. Aside from the ice cream, I also took out all the other ingredients.

I decided on a large wine glass as the cup to hold the parfait.

I chopped strawberries and other fruits into small pieces and mixed them with sugar. First, I placed the fruits one by one in the wine glass. I sprinkled cereal on it and mixed it with yogurt and honey. A large scoop of ice cream was placed on top of it.

‘Now all I have to do is decorate it.’

I put a lot of effort into decorating the parfait with sweets and fruits. Finely chopped strawberries were placed on top and appetizing snack bars were placed on top. The work was completed by sprinkling chocolate syrup on top of the ice cream.

A parfait that looks like something you would see in a cafe has been completed.

It took about 30 minutes.

“You’ve been waiting a long time, right? Ready.”

I put the parfait and a spoon on a tray and carried it to Princess Hongryeon, who was sitting on the sofa. Princess Hongryeon looked at the parfait I was holding with a curious expression.

“That’s omakase… Is it?”

“It’s a parfait. It can be said to be a new dessert created in this world in the past 200 years. This is the offering I recommend.”

“Hmm. I’ll give it a try.”

Princess Hongryeon accepted the wine glass and spoon filled with parfait.

Princess Hongryeon scooped up a spoon and tasted the ice cream drizzled with chocolate syrup.

“Ummmm.”

It was a tense moment.

A sentiment flowed from Princess Hongryeon’s mouth.

“It’s a very sweet food. I feel like my tongue will melt.”

Yes, it will be sweet.

Because chocolate syrup was sprinkled on top of the already sweet ice cream.

So are you saying it’s delicious or not? The reaction was confusing. Princess Hongryeon said as she continued to eat the parfait. This time, the princess even put the chopped strawberries on a spoon and ate them.

“Sweet and stimulating. It tastes like it will corrupt the soul of whoever eats it.”

“No corruption.”

Eating a parfait did not usually lead to corruption. I said this, but Princess Hongryeon didn’t respond and continued to eat the parfait. Before we knew it, the parfait in the large wine glass had neatly entered Princess Hongryeon’s mouth.

A gentle smile appeared on Princess Hongryeon’s lips.

I asked Princess Hongryeon as I accepted the empty wine glass and spoon.

“What do you think? Do you like the offerings I recommended?”

“Hahaha.”

Princess Hongryeon smiled and told me a review of the parfait.

“Parfait, I like it! The spicy taste is so impressive that it melts your tongue. I liked that it was a novel offering that broke away from the obvious meat-based offerings. Moreover, since it is a homemade dish, I like the fact that Jinwoo puts his sincerity into it.”

“Then… ?”

“It was a satisfactory offering. I can’t refuse the offering since I’ve already eaten it all.”

I was satisfied.

It was only after hearing those words that I finally relaxed.

“Hu.”

Princess Hongryeon liked the homemade parfait I made. A new dessert created 200 years ago suited Princess Hongryeon’s taste. Perhaps, if she had just offered ice cream, Princess Hongryeon would have rejected it. Because the ice cream I bought at the store didn’t really put any effort into it. It seemed that Princess Hongryeon highly appreciated the fact that it was a handmade dessert filled with sincerity.

“Thank you.”

“Let’s go outside. Since you worked hard, I will give you a gift in return for your offering.”

Now it was time to receive the promised gift.

I followed Princess Hongryeon out into the yard.

Princess Hongryeon went out into the yard and stood facing me.

‘What are you giving me as a gift?’

I had doubts about the identity of the gift. There was nothing in Princess Hongryeon’s hands right now. Princess Hongryeon, who resided in Sera, had only Sera’s body. I don’t know what you can give me with empty hands.

“Hey, princess. Can you give me a gift? My hands are empty now.”

“I can give it to you, so please take it.”

Princess Hongryeon raised her hands and clapped.

match. The sound of applause echoed through the yard.

It was right then.

There was something that suddenly fell from the sky in Hyehwadang, where there was nothing. Two gold-colored objects crashed toward where I was. It happened so quickly that I couldn’t even see what they were.

“That’s a gift.”

Those gold items were a gift. I reached out and caught two items just before they hit the ground. It wasn’t until I held it in my hand that I realized what it was.

‘Geumgangjeo.’

They were two gold-colored jewels.

It was a ceremonial tool used by Buddhist monks when practicing. At both ends of the iron bar, chunks of iron were sticking out in a shape that looked like a bird grasping it with its claws. The length was about 20cm.

The two Geumgangjeo that fell from the sky were a gift from Princess Hongryeon.

I couldn’t figure out how to use this.

Geumgangjeo was an artifact symbolizing the lightning of Jeseokcheon, the Buddhist god of law protection. Of course, it’s not real lightning, it’s just a craft made of iron. Since it’s a piece of iron, it can be used to hit people, but other than that, I couldn’t find any other use for it.

I honestly asked Princess Hongryeon what it was for.

“It’s Geumgangjeo. It’s an item that symbolizes Je Seok-cheon’s lightning. Can I just hang it as a decoration at home?”

“It’s not an ornament. If the person holding it recites a spell, he or she can control the power of the Vajra. The name itself can be said to be a spell.”

“Did I just call you by name? It’s called Geumgangjeo… .”

I was about to say the name Geumgangjeo, but I missed it. Geumgangjeo was originally a Chinese character translation of what was originally called ‘Vajira’ in an ancient Indian language. In the first place, Jeseokcheon was a god who was created when Indra, the thunder god of Indian mythology, was accepted into Buddhist mythology. Considering the original name, it was correct to call it ‘Vajira’.

I held only a bag of Geumgangjeo and called out his name.

“Vajira.”

In Korean, the actual pronunciation is something like bajra. It was the moment my name was called. Suddenly, a change occurred in the Geumgangjeo I was holding.

━━Crackling

Electric current flowed between the claw-shaped pieces of metal attached to the end of the diamond. A visible current flowed, instantly brightening my surroundings. It was only a moment, less than a second, but I thought of a new possibility while looking at the current flowing Geumgangjeo. It occurred to me that I could use this Geumgangjeo as an electric shock device.

However, the gift that Princess Hongryeon gave me was not an electric shock gun or anything like that.

“Ah!”

Electricity was released from Geumgangjeo’s claws.

━━Pazizik

The lightning spread out like a projectile and hit directly the area where I was aiming with the Diamond Blade. It was the yard of Hyehwadang. There was a flash of lightning and the lightning hit. A hole appeared in the solid ground, and smoke rose from the blackened hole.

“Oh.”

I was amazed. As I recited the incantation, electricity was fired from the Geumgangjeo. It was not a stun gun or anything like that, but a weapon that fired lightning.

“Vajira.”

Out of curiosity, I continued firing lightning strikes. Unfortunately, it was not possible to fire lightning indefinitely. Every time I fired a bolt of electricity, I felt like the power was being sucked out of my body. After firing 10 rounds, I felt dizzy.

Princess Hongryeon, who was watching from the side, spoke to me.

“That Geumgangjeo is an object. It is a weapon imbued with magical power. Each time you fire a bolt of electricity, your energy will be consumed, so don’t overdo it. If you do it wrong, you may faint.”

“It is a weapon that consumes energy.”

“Yes. So, are you satisfied with the gift I gave you?”

I looked at the two Geumgangjeo that I received from Princess Hongryeon. It looks like they didn’t just give one, but two bags to share with Sarah.

“I am satisfied.”

I was satisfied. In addition to offering a homemade parfait as an offering, I received a useful weapon. Meanwhile, Sarah and I lacked the means to intercept the enemy from a distance. Although I carried a lump of rock salt, there was a limit to carrying it around due to its size. Geumgangjeo, which emits electricity, can be used like a firearm.

“I like this Geumgangjeo because it makes little noise and is easy to carry around.”

What I liked most of all was that the sound was quiet when the electricity was emitted. For those of us who need to move quietly, weapons with less noise are better. It was small in size and easy to carry around. It was a highly portable weapon.

It was after receiving the gift.

The morning sun began to rise before I knew it.

Soon, it was time for Princess Hongryeon to return to heaven.

“I will return to the heavenly world soon. I enjoyed the parfait, Jinwoo.”

“When are you coming again next time?”

“I don’t know that either. Next time we meet, I hope to contact you during the day. I want to look outside.”

Princess Hongryeon looked beyond the wall of Hyehwadang and looked regretful.

I spoke to Princess Hongryeon.

“Princess Hongryeon. Next time you come, I will act as a guide. Come take a look anytime.”

“If you go to see it, it’s omakase… Is it?”

“I will recommend places to visit in Seoul. Please leave it to me.”

“Haha. I’m looking forward to it.”

It was time for the reception to end.

Sarah’s body, which contained Princess Hongryeon, slowly tilted and was about to fall to the floor.

I quickly walked over and caught his body before he fell.